Kick In The Pants
by klutzysunshine
Summary: Set post "Ka hauli o ka mea hewa 'ole, he nalowale koke". Danny and Steve's successive traumas are just the kick in the pants they need to finally admit there's something between them.


Rachel smiled at Danny and reached across the table to squeeze his hand after she finished eating. "Daniel, this is sweet but I hope you're not thinking of reconciling."

He stared at her as if the thought hadn't crossed his mind (it had, for a split second, before he pushed it away). "What?"

"You and I both know that you're not in love with me anymore. And we're divorced for a reason. Don't you think it's time you told Steve how you feel about him?"

"What?" Danny repeated.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't be dense."

"You think I'm in love with Steve," he confirmed, hoping his ex-wife hadn't figured out his biggest secret.

No such luck. "I don't think, Danny - I know you are. And he is head over heels in love with you too. So fucking tell him," Rachel encouraged, sitting back with a grin on her face.

"Why are you doing this?" he finally asked once the shock had wore off (a little).

"Because I want you to be happy. Steve lost someone close to him recently, yes? And we almost lost Grace. Let's be honest, he's one of her parents too, not just an uncle. You two have both suffered traumas, and I'm sick of seeing you two suffer alone. So go tell him." Rachel started laughing at the look of shock and fear on her ex-husband's face.

"I'll consider it." Danny's heart was pounding so fast he worried he was having a heart attack. Fortunately, he could put this conversation with Steve off since their ohana was still around.

Unfortunately for him, Grace wore out pretty quickly and everyone (besides Steve, of course) left pretty quickly. "What's going on?" Grace asked her mother as Rachel herded her to bed.

"I think your father and Uncle Steve are finally about to admit to each other what everyone besides them already knew," Rachel told her, deciding to be honest.

Grace squealed, eliciting a confused reaction from both Steve and Danny. "Everything's fine. Nothing to worry about!" Rachel called.

Steve bought it but not Danny, who narrowed his eyes at them. "So, what's up?" Steve asked, watching with curiosity as Rachel and Grace stopped dead in their tracks, obviously trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"You know how we've been through a lot lately?" Danny winced. This was not off to a good start.

A confused Steve stared at him. "What?"

He shrugged. "We've both been through a lot of shit in the past few weeks, that's all. Rachel just knocked some sense into me and made me realize what truly matters." Fuck, what was he doing right now?

"Okay…" Steve had no idea where this was conversation was heading and it terrified him just a little bit.

Danny bit his lip. "I'm in love with you, Steve, and I want to be with you. We've wasted enough time already, as our recent traumas proved."

Tears filled Steve's eyes and he quickly wiped them away. Sniffling, he asked, "You love me?"

"I love you. Why the fuck are you crying? You're going to set me off," a nervous Danny teased.

"Sorry. I'm in love with you too, Danno. Fuck, you have no idea how much I love you."

Grace startled them both, the two men having forgotten that she and Rachel were even still there. "Fucking kiss him already!" She would have yelled but that would have aggravated her pounding headache, something she really didn't want.

The two of them flinched, exchanged a glance, and started laughing. "Well, she is one hundred percent a cop's daughter, especially yours," Steve told him.

"Language," an amused Rachel scolded as she ushered Grace into her room to give the two men some privacy.

Steve smirked at him. "You heard the girl."

That was all the invitation Danny needed - he surged forward and kissed Steve. "We should have been doing this sooner," he murmured when they finally apart.

"No complaints here," Steve replied with a grin on his face.

Danny batted at him, which only made Steve laugh even harder.

The two of them had nine years of lost time to make up for, and they weren't about to waste it now.


End file.
